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The East Vancouver unit “ended up being way nicer than what we were originally purchasing,” said the buyer’s agent.Momentum Realty

5058 Joyce St., No. 1005, Vancouver

Asking price: $499,000 (April 30)

Selling price: $486,000 (May 4)

Previous selling price: $545,000 (2021)

Monthly maintenance fee: $312.84

Taxes: $1,573 (2025)

Days on market: Five

Buyer’s agent: Aaron Muller, Momentum Realty

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This one-bedroom-plus-den unit is in a four-year-old building by Westbank. The building amenities include a rooftop terrace, gym, music room, study room and play zone.Momentum Realty

What they got

This 445-square-foot, one-bedroom-plus-den unit has mountain views from its Collingwood location on the east side of Vancouver. The four-year-old building by Westbank has a rooftop terrace, gym, music room, study room and play zone. It’s also near Joyce-Collingwood SkyTrain station, parks and amenities.

The unit has air conditioning, triple-glazed windows, a kitchen with Miele and Bosch appliances, heated bathroom floors, porcelain tile and a covered balcony. It’s a nice, bright, modern unit in an accessible part of the city, said the buyer’s agent.

The sale completed July 7.

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The unit has air conditioning, triple-glazed windows, a kitchen with Miele and Bosch appliances, heated bathroom floors and porcelain tile.Momentum Realty

The action

Agent Aaron Muller said his client had purchased a Surrey, B.C., presale condo, but the developer had gone bankrupt. Luckily, his client got a refund on her deposit and turned a lemon into lemonade. Mr. Muller found his buyer the unit in Vancouver that was a better value than the Surrey presale condo, and in her desired location.

“First off, she was concerned she was going to lose her money, then it became great news because she got her money out,” he said.

The buyer got the Vancouver condo for below the previous year’s assessed value of $530,000.

“It was amazing, with a rooftop amenity and full concierge, and it ended up being way nicer than what we were originally purchasing,” said Mr. Muller.

“And the reason we went to Surrey was because we couldn’t afford Vancouver.”

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The balcony is covered.Momentum Realty

The agent’s take

“When we purchased the [Surrey] presale, everything was crazy, things flying off shelves. A year and a half later, everything has completely flipped the other way.”

Mr. Muller said he has other clients who made a lot of money flipping presale condos in the last six years, but those clients who didn’t heed his advice by selling are now losing money.

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